Hadrian

Hadrian (24 January 76-10 July 138) was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 117 to 138, succeeding Trajan and preceding Antoninus Pius.

Biography
Hadrian was born in Italica near present-day Santiponce, Province of Seville, Spain to a family of Hispano-Romans, and he was a cousin of Trajan. Immediately before his death, Trajan made Hadrian his successor, and Hadrian made several reforms in the Roman Empire. He loved Greek culture and built several buildings in Athens, and he had a homosexual relationship with Antinous. He withdrew from Mesopotamia and Armenia, which Trajan had conquered from Parthia, and he also considered abandoning Dacia. However, he proved to be strong when he ordered the suppression of Simon bar Kokhba's revolt from 132 to 135 AD, and he also built Hadrian's Wall in northern Roman Britain to demarcate the border between Rome and the Picts of Scotland. In 136 he adopted Lucius Aelius as his son and heir, but when Lucius died prematurely, Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius on the terms that he would adopt Aelius' son Lucius Verus as his eventual successor. Hadrian died in 138 AD.